Thursday, 30 September 2010

Starting project and HTML5

So... Luckily, I'm rather relieved that my project idea was received quite well from the vast majority of people I pitched it to. They could clearly see a gap in the market and thought potentially... it could be quite a good idea.
I'm still not too sure about the delivery though... Part of me is seriously considering building it in HTML5... paritally because it would be future proofed and there is no point in running away from something like that and secondly because... well it has more functionality... and may potentially save a lot of Flash work as well (But I'm not yet certain about that...)
And also whether it will be something like an App... or maybe on the Internet... or even a CD-ROM... I think CD-Roms are kind of going out a bit now... due to the impressive capacity of the Internet... but I do want a rich media product...so we'll have to see about that.
I think I would like to experiment with the interface and how it will work, how it will be used.
SO
I started reading books and plays recently, so then I can decide what narrative I will prototype... Faustus was a great play... I have to confess... I mean... wow... even though it's so old... it could quite easily be brought up to date... I'm not sure about the language... but it has the classic line

Was this the face that launched a thousand ships...

Or at the very least on the TV tropes page...

In other news... I decided to play a new media narrative from a long time ago... called 'Clocktower: The first fear' it was a game for the SNES... but was also a PC game... and my word... it is so frightening...You would think that a 'click and point' narrative doesn't have the capacity to scare... but this is the very reason why it does...

There is little text and almost no explanation... anyone (over the age of 13 due to scariness) could play it, I mean younger audience could play it... however it is a very distressing game.

but the story is excellently revealed (with over 9 endings... 6 of them blood-curdling).

I don't know how far I can call it research... but all I can say is that it is so intriguing... that I had to look into it... and it is horrifically frightening.

The commands are simple, walk, examine, use item and run. There is very little dialogue... and to be honest, you don't need the dialogue either. You are trapped in a house and must escape by collecting items and using them at appropriate times, you have no weapons, and the ending you get is determined by the order you complete the tasks. No obvious moral choices... it's purely pot luck

... I think that is it really it being one of the most frightening survival horror games in existence (despite the fact it was made in 1995). Mainly because of the helplessness of your character.

Brilliantly done. Anyway, I'm not going to make a scary survival game, but the dissemination of the narrative is what was worth playing it for...So soon I will be looking into devices and more rounded ideas.